Thousands Of Dog Lovers Shine A Spotlight On Their Communities

Five Communities Selected for the Chance to Have The PEDIGREEÂ® Feeding Project in Their Town

NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- PEDIGREE ® Brand is announcing today the five communities moving forward in the PEDIGREE ® Feeding Project: Choose the Next Communities program. In January 2013, PEDIGREE ® Brand and Grammy-award winner Miranda Lambert asked dog lovers around the country to tell them which communities they wanted to benefit from the PEDIGREE ® Feeding Project, a program that supplies shelters in need with 100 percent of their core dog food needs, at absolutely no cost.

During the five-week nomination phase, dog lovers united to help PEDIGREE Brand identify the next communities. Thousands of nominations from coast-to-coast, representing hundreds of communities in each corner of the nation and everywhere in between, were submitted. PEDIGREE Brand reviewed each heartfelt entry and narrowed down the field to five communities where the brand could make the biggest immediate difference:

Metro Detroit/Metro Flint, Michigan: There are numerous shelters and rescue groups in Detroit and Flint dedicated to helping dogs get off the streets and into loving homes, like Michigan Animal Rescue League, Friends of Dearborn Animal Shelter and Genesee County Animal Control. But with the Detroit area facing financial difficulties, resources in the community are incredibly limited.

Erie, Pennsylvania: Erie, Pennsylvania is a tight-knit community that takes caring for pets seriously. Managing both funding challenges and a steady increase in homeless pets, groups like The ANNA Shelter and The Humane Society of Northwest Pennsylvania have built an incredible reputation for caring for stray animals.

Jackson, Mississippi: Jackson, Mississippi has one of the highest rates of homeless pets in the state. Animal Rescue Fund of Mississippi, which opened its doors in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the 40-year-old Mississippi Animal Rescue League, work around the clock to take pets off the street and place them in loving homes.

Jacksonville, Florida: Shelters in Jacksonville, Florida are seeing more and more homeless dogs come through their doors every day. Pet Rescue North specializes in helping handicapped, blind, and deaf dogs, while SAFE Animal Shelter continues its noble work as the longest standing shelter in Jacksonville.

Wausau, Wisconsin: The Humane Society of Marathon County in Wausau, Wisconsin does so much to care for the homeless pets in their community that their resources are constantly spread thin. That's why local radio station Y106.5 rallied the community to nominate the shelter for the PEDIGREE Feeding Project. It worked!

Now, these five communities are again relying on the enthusiasm and participation of dog lovers across the nation. Beginning today, people can go to Facebook.com/PEDIGREE to watch a heart-felt message from Miranda Lambert, view photos and stories showcasing these five communities, and then cast their vote for the community that they would like PEDIGREE Brand to help.

"We were overwhelmed by all the nominations from thousands of dog lovers from across the entire country, from communities both big and small," said Jeff Hingher, senior brand manager, PEDIGREE Brand. "We are proud to be supporting a cause important to so many: raising awareness for shelter dogs. As a brand, we are privileged to be able to provide shelter dogs with access to a diet of consistent professional nutrition while they wait for their forever homes through programs like the PEDIGREE Feeding Project. We look forward to learning which two communities America thinks will benefit most from the PEDIGREE Feeding Project in the coming weeks.

Voting begins today and runs until Noon (EDT) on April 12, 2013. The final two communities to officially join the PEDIGREE Feeding Project will be announced mid-year 2013.

The PEDIGREE ® Feeding Project

As the world's largest dog food brand, PEDIGREE Food for Dogs realizes it has the potential to impact more dogs' lives than any other brand. Support from PEDIGREE Brand will allow participating shelters to save anywhere from $40,000 to $100,000 a year without having to worry about food for their dogs. With the money saved, shelters will be able to fund programs that focus on helping more dogs find loving homes. Already, more than 4,000 shelter dogs are receiving the professional nutrition they deserve through the first year of the PEDIGREE Feeding Project – started in 2012 in Nashville and Chicago, two cities with an abundance of homeless pets – and now the PEDIGREE Brand is ready to help even more shelter dogs. For more information about the PEDIGREE Feeding Project and to learn more about the communities nominated, log onto www.Facebook.com/Pedigree.

About the PEDIGREE® Brand

The PEDIGREE ® Brand is the number one brand of dog food in the world, offering a wide variety of products for different dog life stages. As an innovative market leader, the PEDIGREE ® Brand is at the forefront of pet nutrition and understands pet owner needs by providing a range of innovative products and resources. For more information, please visit www.Pedigree.com.

About Mars Petcare US

Mars Petcare US is the U.S. operations of the world's largest petcare company at the privately-held Mars, Incorporated. Mars Petcare US produces some of the world's most beloved pet care brands, including PEDIGREE® Food for Dogs, CESAR® Canine Cuisine, SHEBA® Food for Cats, WHISKAS® Food for Cats, THE GOODLIFE RECIPE® Brand, and TEMPTATIONS® Treats for Cats, as well as exclusive brands products for some of the leading retailers in the U.S. Headquartered in Franklin, Tenn., more than 2,400 Mars Petcare US associates make, sell and distribute its high-quality pet food from 15 manufacturing facilities located in communities across the U.S. For more information, please visit www.mars.com.